Microvideo Transparently Manage VBI Data

Vertical Blanking is an essential part of managing broadcast signals. The Vertical Blanking Interval (VBI) is that unseen part of the signal that allows broadcasters to send information (time code for instance) embed wide screen information, insert subtitles, transmit teletext or simply relay commands from the control system to other pieces of equipment in the broadcast chain.
It may therefore be surprising to find that many commonly available products designed for broadcast applications, for example; A/D D/A and MPEG converters, actually corrupt, destroy or simply block the VBI data used for control, closed caption, teletext, time code and other program critical digital signals.
As a major supplier of signal processing equipment to the global broadcast industry, you would expect Microvideo to know a thing or two about managing embedded data in a video signal and naturally all Microvideo products are designed to be VBI transparent. The specific problems of converters blocking VBI can be dealt with in two ways; Microvideo’s own converters pass VBI, by using Microvideo converters composite, component analogue or digital video can all be converted without corruption or interruption of the VBI data. The second option or where other units, for example mixers and DVEs in the signal line corrupt or block VBI data, Microvideo provide a data bridge which, as its name implies bridges the data, removing it from one side of the offending piece of equipment and placing it back in further down the signal path.
The Microvideo VDB-SD-AN can move data from one line to another, combine and move VBI data between two video feeds and synchronize data from a miss-timed analogue feed. So not only can you resolve the problem of lost VBI data, you can move it, copy it to multiple lines, change it, share it and even fix it.
Microvideo provide a full range of signal processing equipment for the broadcast industry and have supplied the worlds top broadcasters with innovative, practical and cost effective solutions since 1989.
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